God is close by
so the previous 2 months or so have been some of the hardest and most challenging times of my life. (i thought it was all supposed to be relatively easy considering it was the holidays and all!).
it all started when my family moved before Christmas. they're all now like a 14 hour drive away. after they had moved i discover that i have no income, and like, no where to live. i was living with friends temporarily. i couldn't move cos i couldn't pay my own way for long.
what do you do when you have no home, and no money?
a test of faith says my father...
i found all this out a week before we did the local Bendigo mission 'Kids4Life'. this in itself is a very challenging time. i was determined that nothing was going to stop me from doing what i belived that God had called me to do. nothing was going to stop it.
On mission i discovered just how lacking i am in mercy, empathy, patience and anything else along those lines. i also found out just how much some others have them, and when they do posses them how much those people give. they give even when they have nothing left to give.
i discovered, not for the first time, that God really does use anyone and everything to do His work. It didn't matter what happened or what was going on, God used it for His glory. It really was all rather amazing and inspiring. i was in awe of God the whole time of the answers to prayer, healing, growth in the team and kids. All that can only be attributed to God.
So after an amazing and very draining 2 weeks i came back to reality... no home, no income....
so to solve that problem i went to Tahlee, to my family to sort it all out, and well, for a holiday. i hadn't managed to get a job and there was like nothing in Bendigo for me. it was great at Tahlee. i rode a horse, went sailing, saw dolphins, did some cooking, played around with Besah. it was good.
on returning to a stressful situation everything was again rather difficult, although i did find a home! half the problem fixed.
through all this i continued to wonder where God wanted me... people were speaking for God and that makes things confusing. i just continued to ask God where i should be and seek His will for my life. difficult to do when people get in the way.
i found God close by through everything with the same verse being repeated no matter where i was, what i was doing, reading, people i was talking to - "seek first the kingdom of God and all this will be given unto you" as well as "you are worth more than many sparrows"
when i had no income, i always had enough money, which was rather remarkable.
i got many answers to prayer, although not the answers i expected or in the time i thought they should come. it was all rather hard, i had to trust God and not panic (i did freak out like once or twice ...)
i do have an income now. i got it back today and i have a home. the simple things in life should not be taken for granted.
God was close by through it all, and well, is close by now.
it all started when my family moved before Christmas. they're all now like a 14 hour drive away. after they had moved i discover that i have no income, and like, no where to live. i was living with friends temporarily. i couldn't move cos i couldn't pay my own way for long.
what do you do when you have no home, and no money?
a test of faith says my father...
i found all this out a week before we did the local Bendigo mission 'Kids4Life'. this in itself is a very challenging time. i was determined that nothing was going to stop me from doing what i belived that God had called me to do. nothing was going to stop it.
On mission i discovered just how lacking i am in mercy, empathy, patience and anything else along those lines. i also found out just how much some others have them, and when they do posses them how much those people give. they give even when they have nothing left to give.
i discovered, not for the first time, that God really does use anyone and everything to do His work. It didn't matter what happened or what was going on, God used it for His glory. It really was all rather amazing and inspiring. i was in awe of God the whole time of the answers to prayer, healing, growth in the team and kids. All that can only be attributed to God.
So after an amazing and very draining 2 weeks i came back to reality... no home, no income....
so to solve that problem i went to Tahlee, to my family to sort it all out, and well, for a holiday. i hadn't managed to get a job and there was like nothing in Bendigo for me. it was great at Tahlee. i rode a horse, went sailing, saw dolphins, did some cooking, played around with Besah. it was good.
on returning to a stressful situation everything was again rather difficult, although i did find a home! half the problem fixed.
through all this i continued to wonder where God wanted me... people were speaking for God and that makes things confusing. i just continued to ask God where i should be and seek His will for my life. difficult to do when people get in the way.
i found God close by through everything with the same verse being repeated no matter where i was, what i was doing, reading, people i was talking to - "seek first the kingdom of God and all this will be given unto you" as well as "you are worth more than many sparrows"
when i had no income, i always had enough money, which was rather remarkable.
i got many answers to prayer, although not the answers i expected or in the time i thought they should come. it was all rather hard, i had to trust God and not panic (i did freak out like once or twice ...)
i do have an income now. i got it back today and i have a home. the simple things in life should not be taken for granted.
God was close by through it all, and well, is close by now.
posted by Cara at
5:09 PM
5 Comments:
Wow cool.
Thought I'd just add this thought I heard in a sermon yesterday by John Bevere. (I don't know how relevant it is, but I was just like, YEAH!!)
The bible says draw near to God and He will draw near to You
Now, I know God is always there, but there's also that 'intimate relationship' thing. In that, who draws near to God first? We do! We draw near to him and then he will draw near to us. Even though he's always there anyway.
Aggh I don't think I'm explaining myself very well, I'll give u a copy of it.
By
Achi Myachi, at 4:38 PM
Great blog Cara!
It is in these situations that it is learnt that GOD IS FAITHFUL!
Your testimony of faith here is a real encouragement - and a real challenge! Doing what God asks you to do is no small thing that involves a great deal of faith ... and getting out of your comfort zone!
Its interesting how you mentioned about so many people saying things 'for God': 1 Kings 22 talks about when all these 'prophets' were saying to the King of Israel that God wanted him to fight a certain people group. But the scripture shows it wasn't of God at all. Interesting too how such 'thus saith the Lord' messages brought confusion instead of peace and joy.
And hehe ... its amazing how mission shows up our personalities (and their weaknesses). I feel i had the exact opposite - not been tough enough! Wanna trade some of that lack of mercy and stuff...?
God bless you sister!
By
Luke Webb, at 2:44 AM
In regard to drawing near to God, this verse is an interesting one:
'Am I only a God nearby', declares the Lord, 'and not a God far away?' (Jeremiah 23:23)
By
Susan Barnes, at 2:05 AM
Luke, that's one of my favourite Bible stories! You're talking about Micaiah, aren't you? That passages shows me, among other things, God's sense of story-telling and humour.
By
Steff, at 8:55 PM
Well done, Cara! You really came through it all in the end!
We are all sooooo proud of you and we know God is smiling down at you through all this as you sit and (calmly?) reflect on all your tests of faith that you have come through.
We love you.
By
Unknown, at 10:32 PM
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